Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Facial Neoplasms ; pathology ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Rabbits

Objective To evaluate if high energy spectral CT images of contrast-enhanced phase could replace the plain scan for radiation dose reduction in children with solid tumor in abdomen.Methods Thirty children with solid tumor in the abdomen underwent CT scan.Plain CT scan was performed as usual,and the contrast-enhanced scan was performed with spectral CT imaging mode.Eleven sets of monochromatic images were reconstructed from the enhanced spectral CT with energies from 40 to 140 keV with 10 keVinterval.CT values for liver,spleen,kidney,pancreas,muscle,vessel and tumors were measured on both the plain and contrast-enhanced spectral images and were statistically compared.Two board-certified radiologists reviewed both plain and contrast-enhanced spectral images for image quality,calcification and tumor characterization.Radiation dose was recorded(CTDIvol,DLP).Pair t test was used to analyze the difference.Results At 140 keV,CT values of the contrast-enhanced spectral images had good correlations with those of plain scan for various organs.The paired CT values between the 140 keV and plain phaseimages were (62.8± 1.1 vs.59.8±4.0),(69.4±2.6vs.63.1 ±5.6),(52.7 ±5.1 vs.51.4±4.0),(35.4± 5.9 vs.35.7 ±5.3),(51.4±8.6vs.50.0±5.7),(55.5±6.6vs.54.7±5.7) and (33.2± 10.4vs.35.4± 12.1) HU for vessel,liver,spleen,kidney,pancreas,muscleand tumor,respectively.There was no significant difference between two groups(t=0.335 to 2.127,P＞0.05).140 keV images of the contrast-enhanced spectral scan in pediatric tumor patients provided adequate image quality (4.4±0.8 points and 3.7±0.5 points)for describing solid tumor features and calcification.The radiation dose of plain phase and contrast-enhanced phase were [CTDIvol (1.6±0.8) mGy,DLP(46.4±36.8)mGy·cm and CTDIvol(12.7±0.1)mGy,DLP(378.6±91.4)mGy·cm.Conclusion It isfeasible to replace plain CT with 140 keV contrast-enhanced spectral images to reduce 10％ radiation dose.

Objective To study the effect of low-level 84 disinfection solution on reproductive physiology of mice . Methods 72 KM mice were randomly divided into three groups :0.5%84 disinfection solution group ( group A) , 2.0%84 disinfection solution group (group B) and saline solution group (group C).12 males and 12 females in each group. Corresponding medicine was given once a day by intragastric gavage for 9 weeks.The estrous cycle of female mice was observed by exfoliative cytology of vagina .After 9 weeks, The sperm abnormality test was performed , Serum samples were taken for sex hormone test by ELISA, and the histological change of testis (or ovary), heart, liver, lung and kidney were observed.Results Compared with group C , No significant difference was observed in the weight variation and serum sex hormone level in group A and B (P >0.05).The difference of the estrous cycle of female mice was not significant (P >0.05).No histopathological abnormality was observed .Compared with group C, There was no significant difference in the rate of sperm abnormality in group A ( P >0.05 ) , but the rate in group B was significantly increased ( P <0.05 ) . Conclusion 0.5% 84 disinfection solution has no significant effect on reproductive physiology of mice , The concentration of disinfection solution must be strictly controlled when used .

Objective To investigate the relationship between vascular endothelial function and insulin resistance(IR) and the incidence of metabolic syndrome(MS).Methods A seven-year follow-up study was conducted in 583 simple obese subjects who were chosen in 2000.Body fat,blood pressure,lipid profile,plasma glucose,insulin resistance index(HOMA-IR) and endothelium- dependent dilatation(EDD) were measured before and after the follow-up.Results A total of 177 new cases with MS were found during this seven years,which was 33.78% of all subjects who were followed up in 2007.Cumulative incidence of MS among seven-year was 38.14% in the impaired EDD group and 48.11% in the impaired EDD with IR group,both rates were higher than that of the IR group(25.00%)(P

As a new neuroimaging method, functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) with its importance of data processing has been widely recognized by neurology and cognitive psychology. Focusing on the realignment section in fMRI image preprocessing, this paper comprehensively describes the registration principle of SPM, an internationally-known software package which is specially designed for cerebral function imaging. An improved registration method is presented which effectively increases the accuracy. In addition, choosing the ratio of SSD and NMI as the registration measure can compensate for the limitation of using single measurement, which improves the robustness and reliability of the registration process. Experimental results prove the feasibility of this method.

Objective To investigate the expression of ADAM8 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its clinical significance.Methods The protein expression of ADAM8 in HCC tissues was analyzed using immunohistochemical analysis.Serum levels of ADAM8 were measured by ELISA in 126 patients with HCC,50 patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) and 50 healthy individuals.The relationship between patients' pathological features and serum ADAM8 level was analyzed.Results Immunohistochemical analysis showed that ADAM8 expression was associated closely with serum AFP elevation,tumor size,histological differentiation,and tumor stage.The ELISA assay showed that the serum levels of ADAM8 in the HCC were significantly higher than those in LC and healthy groups.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that high expression of serum ADAM8 exhibited a significant correlation with poor prognosis for HCC patients.Multivariate analysis revealed that serum ADAM8 expression is an independent prognostic parameter for the overall survival rate of HCC patients.Conclusion ADAM8 expression was closely associated with tumor size,serum AFP elevation,tumor differentiation,tumor stage and prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.Therefore,ADAM8 expression may serve as a biomarker for predicting the prognosis of patients in hepatocellular carcinoma.

This study was aimed to observe different forms of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) and insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) in the hippocampus and cortex in order to further explore the role of Aβ and IDE on spleen yin deficiency di-abetes-associated cognitive decline (DACD), and the effect of Zi-Bu Pi-Y in method. The rats were randomly divided into five groups, which were the blank control (Cont) group, diabetes (DM) group, spleen yin deficiency (pi) group, spleen yin deficiency diabetes (piDM) group and Zi-Bu Pi-Y in recipe (ZBPYR) group. Soluble and insoluble Aβ in the hippocampus and cortex of rats were extracted by gradient centrifugation, and then measured by ELISA. The ex-pression of IDE was observed by western blot. The results showed that the content of soluble and insoluble Aβ1-42 in the hippocampus and cortex of the DM group and piDM group were higher than the Cont group. The soluble and in-soluble Aβ1-42 content in the hippocampus and cortex of the ZBPYR group were reduced compared with the DM group and the piDM group. The soluble Aβ1-40 in the cortex of the DM group, pi group and piDM group were in-creased compared with the Cont group (P < 0.05). The soluble Aβ1-40 content of the ZBPYR group was decreased compared with the DM group and the piDM group (P < 0.05). The expression of IDE protein was decreased in the hippocampus of the DM group and the piDM group compared with the Cont group (P< 0.05), and the IDE protein level in the hippocampus of the ZBPYR group was increased compared with the DM group and the piDM group (P<0.05). The expression of IDE protein in the cortex of the DM group, pi group and piDM group was lower than the Cont group (P< 0.05). The IDE protein level in the cortex of the ZBPYR group was reduced compared to the DM group (P< 0.05). It was concluded that the increased Aβ1-42 in brain may be a major pathological change of DACD and spleen yin deficiency DACD. The decreased IDE expression may be one of the reasons to induce increasing of Aβ1-42 level. The Zi-Bu Pi-Y in method may decrease the Aβ1-42 content by upregulating IDE protein expression.

Objective To observe the difference between skeletal age of hand and wrist and chronological age and explore the reliability of CHN radiographic atlas method to assess the skeletal age of hand and wrist in children and adolescent.Methods Total 1397 healthy children (666 boys,731 girls;age range,1.0-18.0 years old) with hand and wrist injury from 2007 to 2011 were selected.Forty groups (n =20 for boys and girls,respectively) were classified according to CHN radiographic atlas method.The radiographs of hand and wrist were assessed by CHN radiographic atlas method,the relations between skeletal age and chronological age were investigated by using Wilcoxon signed ranks test.Results According to the CHN radiographic atlas method,the difference in 1.0 to 3.9 years old,7.0 to 7.9 years old and 9.0 to 15.9 years old boy groups between skeletal age and the chronological age had statistical significance (P ＜0.05) ; the difference in 1.0 to 2.9 years old,8.0 to 11.9 years old,12.6 to 14.9 years old,and 17.0 to 18.0 years old girl groups between skeletal age and the chronological age had statistical significance (P ＜ 0.05).Besides,these skeletal age was higher than the chronological age.Conclusions Skeletal age assessed by the CHN radiographic atlas method in a majority of age groups was higher than chronological age.It should be cautious to estimate the contemporary Chinese children skeletal age of hand and wrist when using the CHN radiographic atlas method.

Objective To analyze CT and MR features of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST)of children. Methods Sixteen patients with histologically proven MPNST were retrospectively reviewed.There were 8 male and 8 female, ages from 0.3 to 11.0 years, and median age was 2.5 years. Sixteen cases were performed with CT plain scan, and eight cases with CT enhancement scans, and three with MR examination. The imaging data were analyzed by two highly experienced doctors and obtained agreements after mutual consultation. Results Among 16 cases, 3 cases were located at neck, 5 cases at waist and back,3 cases at abdominal and pelvic, 2 cases at foot, 1 case at left clavicle, 1 case at right mediastinum, 1 case at right orbit. Fifteen cases appeared as solid masses and 1 case showed a diffuse growth. CT plain scan showed 8 cases were solid-appearing masses and 7 cases were cystic-solid mass. Enhanced CT showed enhancement of solid component was moderate to marked and gradually delayed enhanced while cystic component had no any enhancement. One was located on the left side of the neck and appeared as diffuse growth. Two cases of solid mass type appeared as hypo-intensity on T1WI and hyper-intensity on T2WI, and obviously high signal intensity of cystic component on T2WI, and with significantly heterogeneous enhanced.One case with diffuse growth appeared as hypo-intensity on T1WI and slightly hyper-intensity on T2WI, and with significantly enhanced. Sixteen cases appeared as invasive growth, 11 caseswith multiple organic metastases and recurrences, and 4 cases with neurofibromatosis type I and scoliosis.Conclusion CT and MR appearances of MPNST have certain characteristic features, and can demonstrateaggressive performance and multiple organic metastases, which is helpful for definite diagnosis and treatment plan.

Objective To evaluate the characteristics of abdominal aorta wall motion in different stages of rats atherosclerosis with velocity vector imaging (VVI) technique. Methods Twenty-four healthy SD rats were on high-fat feeding after one week ordinary diet. Abdominal aortic intima-media thickness (IMT), end-systolic blood vessel diameter (Ds), peak systolic velocity (Vs), resistance index (RI), pulsatility index (PI) were measured before and at the end of 8th and 12nd week. Artery wall peak velocity (V_(max)), maximum tangential strain (S_(max)) and the maximum tangential strain rate (SR_(max)) were caculated with VVI. Results Abdominal aortic intima was rough and a small amount of foam cells were found under the light microscope at the end of 8 weeks of high-fat feeding. The values of Smax and SRmax measured at the end of 8th week of high-fat feeding decreased significantly than those of before high-fat feeding (P<0.05). At the end of 12nd week, abdominal aortic intimal was thicker and atherosclerotic plaque appeared somewhere. There were significant differences in artery IMT, Ds, Vs, RI, PI between before and the end of 2nd week of high-fat feeding (P<0.05);the values of V_(max), S_(max), SR_(max) decreased significantly than those of before and at the end of 8th week of high-fat feeding (P<0.05). Conclusion VVI can quantitatively evaluate the vessel wall elasticity in different stage of arteriosclerosis rats.